Breadcrumbs

South Coast Rail Land Use Corridor Plan

What is it?

The South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan is a blueprint for clustering jobs and homes near transit, maximizing the economic benefits of rail investment, minimizing sprawl development, and preserving the farms, fields, and forests of the South Coast. The Corridor Plan, released in the summer of 2009, specifically identifies priority areas for protection and development, known as Priority Protection Areas (PPAs) and Priority Development Areas (PDAs).

Who Participated?

The Corridor Plan is the result of a collaborative partnership among the Commonwealth, thirty-one corridor communities, and three regional planning agencies working in conjunction with the Southeastern Massachusetts Commuter Rail Task Force. The process for developing the Corridor Plan included more than 100 civic engagement meetings and events that drew on the knowledge and insights of regional residents, businesses, officials, and community-based organizations.

Plans and Maps

Executive Order 525

In fall 2010, Executive Order 525 (E.O. 525) was issued to provide for the implementation of the Corridor Plan and Corridor Map through state agency actions and investments. The Executive Order calls for state investments to be consistent with the Corridor Plan’s recommendations to the maximum extent feasible. These state actions have the potential to leverage local and private investments in the priority areas. The Executive Order also directs state agencies to conduct a retrospective analysis to determine how consistent their actions and investments in the region have been with the Corridor Plan goals.

Based upon the issuance of E.O. 525 in fall 2010, state agencies must now consider plan consistency when making funding decisions. In order to facilitate the consideration of E.O. 525 in the decision making process, all state agencies have outlined the steps they will take to maximize compliance with the Corridor Plan into their investment decision making process. As an example of the type of actions that have been taken, many state program applications now require that applicants from the 31 cities and towns in the South Coast Corridor outline how their project is consistent with the Corridor Plan. View Executive Order 525

The South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan - State Investment in the South Coast Region and Implementation of the Corridor Plan: A Retrospective Analysis

Executive Order 525 directed the Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A&F) to develop a retrospective analysis. To complete this analysis, A&F directed five state agencies to conduct a retrospective review of investments that were made in the South Coast Rail Corridor Region and to assess the consistency of those investments with the Corridor Plan. To complete the retrospective reporting state agencies reviewed investment decisions that were made within the South Coast Region between Fiscal Year 2009 and Fiscal Year 2011, or July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2011. In total, over 245 investment commitments were reviewed . View the State Investment in the South Coast Region and Implementation of the Corridor Plan: A Retrospective Analysisfile size 1MB

The South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan - Web based State Investment Commitment Tracking Tool

Executive Order 525 also directed the Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A&F) to develop a web based state investment commitment tracking tool. This online interactive tracking tool, developed in partnership with the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD), displays the investment commitment information that is summarized in the State Investment in the South Coast Region and Implementation of the Corridor Plan: A Retrospective Analysis. Each of the state investment commitments is geographically displayed on the map and information, such as the project name, total investment commitment, consistency with the Corridor Plan and Priority Area descriptions, are provided as part of the tracking tool. View the Web based State Investment Commitment Tracking Tool.

State Investment in the South Coast Region and Implementation of the Corridor Plan: Fiscal Year 2012

Links and Resources

South Coast Rail Technical Assistance Awards

In September 2013, The Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development announced the 6th annual South Coast Rail Technical Assistance Awards.

The Commonwealth awards technical assistance (TA) to communities seeking to implement the South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan. Technical Assistance awards typically range between $5,000 - $25,000 and most of the assistance is provided by the 3 Regional Planning Agencies in the region: Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SPREDD), Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC).